For the last time in this 2013 National Hockey League season, the Tampa Bay Lightning will take to the ice for a game on a Wednesday night. Having recently clinched a playoff spot for the first time since the 2005 lockout, the Toronto Maple Leafs are in town looking to keep their spirits high as they head towards the post-season. A win for the Maple Leafs at the Tampa Bay Times Forum would not only be a huge confidence booster, but it would also give them two very key points in the standings as they battle for positioning with the New York Islanders and perhaps even the Montreal Canadiens. With the Lightning miles out of the playoff race and looking towards the draft, it’s clear that one team has a whole lot more to play for than the other on Wednesday night.

After starting the season with six wins in their first seven games, the Lightning looked like a team that could potentially challenge for the Southeast Division crown. Since then, it’s been all downhill. In between injuries and a mid-season coaching change, nothing has worked for the Bolts in 2013. It’s been a tough season, a rough season, and a season to forget. With only two wins in their last ten games, the Lightning just aren’t doing enough to get the job done. Despite boasting some mighty impressive pieces on the roster, the Lightning’s 2013 track record has been anything but successful.

On the other side of things, the Toronto Maple Leafs are doing the exact opposite of the Lightning. After suffering in a state of futility for what seemed like eons, the Leafs are back where they belong. Putting all personal allegiances aside, it’s really great to see the Leafs back in the post-season picture. With so much talent on the roster, including the likes of a confident Nazem Kadri, Phil Kessel, James Van Riemsdyk, Dion Phaneuf and more, it shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone that the Maple Leafs are comfortably situated within the Eastern Conference’s top eight. Randy Carlyle’s coaching system has worked wonders on a group that once looked so lost under Ron Wilson. The team’s penalty killing is better, the team’s defensive structure is better, and so many of the group’s younger guys, including goaltender James Reimer, are playing with a renewed sense of calmness.

Having lost six straight games, the Lightning head into Wednesday’s game without much confidence. Even with a relatively healthy roster, this team struggles to do the little things right. In between giveaways and defensive lapses, the Lightning miss so many great offensive chances. Watching Steven Stamkos miss open nets, Martin St. Louis pass up golden opportunities, and depth guys lose key battles in the crease is brutally painful for everyone who bleeds Lightning colors.

For anyone reluctant to hop on the “Suck for Seth” bandwagon, there is an inkling of good news for the Lightning as they into this contest. Recent history between these two clubs has been fairly kind to the Bolts, as the team has compiled a record of 7-3-1 in its last eleven games at home against the Leafs. While that’s hardly much to run on, especially given where the Lightning sit in the standings, it might give the guys in the locker room that extra jolt of confidence before they take to the ice. This Lightning group knows it can match the Leafs’ speed, offensive firepower, and relentless attack; the team has done so before. As said, it’s not much, but at this point the Bolts will take whatever motivation they can find.

As the Lightning move towards the end of this season, one last storyline to watch involves Martin St. Louis’ run for the Art Ross trophy. Currently trailing Sidney Crosby by one point, St. Louis has once again proven that he is indeed an ageless wonder. With 55 points so far this year, it’s scary to think that he is nearly 38 years old; he is truly one of a kind.

All in all, the Lightning are going to be in tough against a Leafs team that is confident and itching to touch post-season ice for the first time in nearly a decade. Lightning coach Jon Cooper is going to need his troops to be ready for an early storm. With a good start and a workman-like effort from everyone for sixty minutes, the Lightning might be able to squeak out a surprise victory. No promises, Bolts Nation.

As always, thanks for reading. Predictions?

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